“Idealism is simply long-range realism!”

From the very first page I was blown away!?! Really? Abby wakes up and is told by her husband that she is a cobot (a.k.a. #AIAbby)!?!? #WTH...right??? Well, this is the premise behind the wonderfully intriguing story of The Perfect Wife! Abby seemed to have it all---being a successful artist, being a mother, and marrying a Silicon Valley tech genius, Tim Scott?!? Well...as the saying goes, “looks can be deceiving”! I was invested from page one! I wanted to know what happened to Abby? Was Tim the grieving and loving husband he was portraying? Was Tim able to erase the bad memories and only leave or create good memories for #AIAbby? And JP so brilliantly answered all my questions and added some twists and turns to the plot for good measure! Like Believe Me, one of his previous novels, the ending had me #Shook!!! I don’t know if JP’s intention was to write a sci-fi novel, but it became one! It put me in mind of a Hitchcock movie with a Twilight Zone twist!!!

The story is told with alternating chapters of #AIAbby (with human Abby flashbacks) and either employees of Scott Robotics or other cobots?!? Yes, this book is a “MindFudge” WINK WINK, but I was SO intrigued that I couldn’t put the novel down!!! The entire premise of creating a better version of yourself is strangely appealing! I was actually rooting for the #AIAbby! I know, weird, right?!? I promise if you like The Girl Before, Believe Me, or books by Blake Crouch then you will enjoy this one. I rated this book 5/5 stars because this book went “off the rails” but in a highly enjoyable way!!! Thank you Netgalley for providing me an ARC for my honest review.

J. P. Delaney has become one of my go-to authors when I’m in the mood for a suspenseful psychological thriller with a unique storyline. I really enjoyed his previous novels The Girl Before and Believe Me for this reason and he’s done it again with his latest effort, The Perfect Wife.

The Perfect Wife follows Abbie, who as the story opens, wakes up not knowing who she is or where she is. Tim, the man who is with her when she wakes up, says that he is her husband and begins to fill in some of the gaps in her memory, telling her that she is an artist and a mother. What he tells her next is rather unsettling. Tim, a giant in the Silicon Valley tech industry, informs Abbie that she was in a horrific accident five years ago that took her from him. Through the magic of a technological breakthrough in the field of artificial intelligence, he has managed to bring her back from the dead. The Abbie we are following in the story is actually an AI robot that is basically a clone of Tim’s real wife.

The technology is such that even many of Abbie’s memories were able to be uploaded into the AI unit. What starts to happen, however, is that the more AI Abbie pieces together about the real life relationship between her alter ego and Tim, the more she questions what Tim’s motives really are and his version of the accident that took Abbie from him. Is he really just a sad guy who misses his wife and wants to preserve her memory (in a slightly creepy way) or is there more to it?

I really enjoyed the many twists and turns of the story as AI Abbie gets closer and closer to unraveling the mystery of what happened to the real Abbie and what Tim’s role in it was. There’s plenty of suspense and I just loved the sci fi twist, especially having the story told from the perspective of the AI so that we can see her piecing together all of the key details needed to solve the mystery. The AI tech speak was interesting too, even if I didn’t necessarily understand all of it or wholly buy into the idea of being able to upload memories into an AI unit. It was still fascinating to even consider the possibility. I also liked the exploration of the moral implications – would such a thing even be considered ethical since you’re basically artificially cloning a person without his or her consent?

I also liked that in addition to the science fiction angle and the mystery/psychological thriller angle, the story has even more layers that deal with marriage and family. The author does an especially nice job of realistically depicting all of the challenges that come with raising a child who is on the autism spectrum.

The only real downside for me with The Perfect Wife is that I didn’t really connect much with any of the characters. I felt like an outsider observing them in a clinical way. My preference is always for characters that I find relatable or that I feel something for, so in that sense, the read was a little off for me. Even so, it was still a very solid read for me.

If a psychological thriller with a sci fi twist and a wholly original plot sounds like something you would enjoy, J. P. Delaney’s The Perfect Wife should be on your must-read list.

I have read a lot of thrillers lately and I wanted to read something a bit different. This was a perfect choice. The imagination of the author is well evident as he brings Artificial Intelligence to the forefront. Imagine an emotionally intelligent machine who can mimic the cognitive functions of a dearly departed wife who is re-created with similar strengths, thoughts and resourcefulness by an ‘unlimited resource’ rich tech titan and visionary husband. Dear Lord, a frightening evolutionary perspective and maybe not so far-fetched? Lots of food for thought.

The author’s development of Abbie and Tim as the tiny cracks appear, the bubbling sinister twists of the story and Delaney’s inclusion of some anonymous narrator chapters were brilliant.

Tim Scott is the head of Scott Robotics. His wife, Abbie, had died in a surfing accident 5 years earlier, but her body was never found. They have a son, Danny, with a complex form of autism. He has a nanny/teacher, Sian, who is with him all the time.

Now, Tim has developed a companion robot which is just like Abbie. However, she does not need to eat and has no genitalia, just like a Barbie doll. Abbie “woke up” in room where Tim had created her and now she lives at home. But, she wants to know what happened to her and why/how she died.

I applaud the author’s creativity, but I found myself rolling my eyes at a lot of this tale. Yes, robots are fine as an aide in industry, but to replace humans in a personal capacity is not something I support. Not much different from a blow-up doll.

If you are a huge techie, you will absolutely love this story! I don’t think it belongs in the thriller genre, but more in the sci-fi/fantasy genre. However, technology is changing and growing every day, so maybe not too many years from now you will be able to duplicate a loved one you have lost. A bit creepy, but to each his own.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book was definitely not what I expected, and not in a good way, unfortunately. I'm not generally a sci-fi reader but this plot sounded too good to resist. I know the book has been getting amazing reviews, but I just couldn't stay focused on the plot, there were too many storylines. I didn't like the way the story was told with the alternating characters and I just couldn't relate.

The book tells the story of tech genius Tim Scott who loses his wife Abby in an accident and then creates a new robot wife that almost indistinguishable. Somehow he (thinks) he has transferred Abby's brain and personality into the robot but all is not what it seems, both with Abby and Tim.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Extraordinary book! JP Delaney, one of the pseudonyms of a well respected author of other genres, has only written a few mysteries and I’ve loved all of them. He/She does everything right. Clever, original plot. Admirable prose. Perfect pacing. Memorable characters. One of the best books in this genre that I’ve read. You will not regret being introduced to this author.

Abbey is a free-spirited artist who is married to Tim, the brilliant but socially inept head of a tech corporation that builds “shop bots” and sells them to stores to use as staff. Tim and Abbey are as different as night and day, but somehow they fall in love and seem to be living a happy life. One day, Abbey disappears while surfing near their beach house at night, as she often did. No body is ever found, and police are suspicious that Tim might have killed her, but are unable to prove it. After several years, it is assumed that she is dead.

Inconsolable, Tim builds a sophisticated replica of his wife, who is designed not only to have many of the memories of the original Abbey, but also to be able to learn and develop into a more complex personality.

“Why’s it called Galatea syndrome?” “From an ancient Greek myth. About a sculptor called Pygmalion, who rejected all the women of Cyprus as frivolous and wanton. Until one day, he carved a statue of a woman so beautiful and pure, he couldn’t help falling in love with it. At which point the statue came to life and loved him right back. He called her Galatea. I guess today we’d say he fell in love with an ideal, rather than a person.”

What could go wrong? You’ll have to read this book to find out.
Very highly recommended.

This would be great for book club discussions as it brings up questions about artificial intelligence and how we will interact with increasingly sophisticated androids in the rapidly approaching future. Are they merely property to be used, abused, or thrown away by their human owners? Do they have a “soul”? Are they a danger to our society since they will eventually be far superior in many ways to humans? What problems might arise as robots take over even more of the functions of human beings, as is being experienced in manufacturing today?

Note: I received an advance copy of the ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn't believe my luck that I have been chosen to be able to read JP Delaney's new book early. Wow, this book sure didn't disappoint. Fast paced, twisty.

A deliciously dark and chilling take on obsession and twisted love. I loved this fast paced and thoughtful gripping story of greed, wealth, and desire.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions are my own.

The Perfect Wife by JP Delaney is a recommended domestic thriller featuring artificial intelligence.

Five years after her death, Tim Scott, the founder of Scott Robotics, has created a cobot, or companion robot, of his wife, Abbie Cullen-Scott. Abbie, the cobot, has memories, but not all memories, only those Tim has chosen to download. She knows she was an artist, mother, good cook, and a surfer. Tim, however, won't tell Abbie how she died. Abbie, while trying to regain whatever memories or knowledge she can, learns that she supposedly drowned in a surfing accident, but a body was never recovered and Tim faced murder charges in her death.

After starting out as an intriguing premise with the possibility of The Perfect Wife becoming a compelling addition to the science fiction genre, it soon became clear that little significant sci-fi evolution in the plot was actually going to happen. The novel, after the exciting opening, suddenly becomes a domestic thriller along the lines of the "new" woman researching the former wife. Few facts and little real usage was made of the AI needed to make a cobot and program one to resemble a dead person. In order to continue reading, I had to set my love of hard sci-fi aside.

The narrative unfolds through the points-of-view of Abbie the cobot and the Scott Robotics employees. The chapters alternate between the past and present and are told in the second and third person omniscient. It feels awkward when reading. What does work is the depiction of Danny, Tim and Abbie's Autistic son. Danny is the only character who felt real, believable. I'm afraid the rest of the characters fell a bit flat for me.

Viewing The Perfect Wife as a domestic thriller, with the new wife researching the previous wife, is what kept my interest in the plot. In that aspect, the writing certainly kept things moving and propelled the plot forward. The ending, however, was a let down, as were the many plot points left hanging. This novel is okay - a good airplane book.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Penguin Random House.

http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2019/08/the-perfect-wife.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2928387514
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This psychological thriller follows Abbie as she awakens with no memory of how she landed in her current condition. She quickly discovers that following an accident her husband (with the help of science) has brought her back. I really enjoyed this twist on the typical psychological thriller, and truly did not predict the ending of this novel. I think my biggest struggle was not being able to really get invested into the AI behind the creation of Abbie. It was hard for me to visualize what she looked and felt like. I couldn't connect completely with her.

*4.5 stars rounded up! This is such a cool book! I always enjoy J.P. Delaney's speculative fiction. This one is about artificial intelligence and how it might be changing the world to come.

Tim Scott and his partner Mike run a hugely successful start-up in Silicon Valley working in Artificial Intelligence. Their biggest success to date has been a 'shopbot' which works in retail helping shoppers make selections.

But when Tim's beautiful and talented wife, Abbie, disappears, he sets about designing a companion robot, or cobot, that looks exactly like his wife and shares most of her memories. Many find this appalling and it unleashes a storm of legal questions--who owns a person's memories after all? Would you jump at the chance to have your memories permanently transferred to an A.I. if it meant you could then be immortal in that way? Does a robot have a soul?

The story is told from two perspectives: the Abby cobot's (but she always refers to herself as 'you'); and from Tim's office staff, told in the plural 'we'. These alternating chapters are oddly numbered as well.

And nothing is what it seems as 'Abbie' tries to figure out what happened to the woman whose memories she has stored in her memory banks. Is she really dead or did she choose to disappear? Would she have left her autistic son behind?

Lots of twists and turns to this story. As the popular saying goes: I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend.

I received an arc of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review. Many thanks for an enthralling read.

This book launched to warp speed from the first paragraph. I was engrossed, enthralled, captivated. The questions (what has happened? what is happening now? what will happen?) intensified page by page.

Although artificial intelligence is a major force in the book, it may not be techie enough to satisfy hard-core sci-fi fans. But if a reader likes genre-busting speculative fiction, I recommend this. Woven into the propulsive plot are issues such as marital and workplace abuse, disability, and humans' apparently inescapable need for hero worship. (Don't worry, they don't bog down the story.)

Perhaps it's telling that the two most captivating characters were the "cobot" (companion robot) Abbie, and the boy Danny, who is on the autism spectrum.

My only complaint is with the final few pages. The story ended not with a bang, but a whimper. Things were muddy. It's not that I wanted all those aforementioned questions answered, but I would've liked to know what was going on in the moment. Even after re-reading, I wasn't sure.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance reader's copy.

J.P. Delaney is one of my auto-buy authors so I went into reading this book without knowing anything about it. To say i was surprised when we are introduced to Abbie who is a robot would be an absolute understatement! I guess i should say co-bot or companion robot like the book says. This book is actually so different from what I was expecting but I liked the originality of it. I actually forgot Abbie was a co-bot while reading -she is written in a way that she seems real. I thought of the show Westworld when I was envisioning this book as I read. This book is quite different from the previous books of his that I read - this one is more of a sci-fi thriller and I typically don't enjoy much Sci-fi. The plot dragged for me just a bit in the middle although I did like the book. This book isn't my favorite JP Delaney book. I think I will give this book 3 1/2 stars. I think this book is not for everyone and I think the robot aspect was just a bit different for me.

I was captivated by this book. The characters were very realistic and the story flowed. The mystery was engrossing and the ending a shocker! Absolutely loved it! I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

Tim lost his wife Abbie in a suspicious accident five years ago. He is a tech genius, and creates a robot that looks, sounds, and acts like his missing wife. Abbie, the robot, awakens to a world where she knows and remembers some things, but there are large gaps in her memories. She soon wants to know more about what happened to the real Abbie, and she starts to look into her disappearance.

Told with multiple points of view that are a little confusing. Mostly told from Abbie the robot's viewpoint, but also includes an unknown narrator. This novel uses second-person POV, which I didn't really enjoy.

The setting is Silicon Valley and centers around a man who runs a tech company and creates an AI robot. The man was infatuated with his wife, and after losing her, he creates the perfect wife... an AI robot. Kind of creepy. The story is about Abbie the robot and what she is, how she fits into society, and what happened to the real Abbie.

A combination of science fiction and psychological thriller. There is a fair amount of tech talk, but nothing too complicated. The characters are unreliable and make for an entertaining thriller. I was disappointed in the ending and how everything came together. I can handle some unanswered questions, but this story had more plot holes than I was comfortable with. Unsettling and unique.

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

That was....different. I have sort of been on the fence with J. P. Delaney's books (I thought "The Girl Before" was sort of, maybe, OK; did not like "Believe Me" at all), but I think "The Perfect Wife" has finally helped me make my decision: I don't think this author is really for me. "The Perfect Wife" was much too science-fiction for my liking.

What a ride! I requested this book from NetGalley because of the reviews I read on this author. I had no idea what I was getting. I have to say that I have been disappointed with the books I have been reading in the suspense/thriller genre. This one did not let me down!

I found myself pondering moral questions about Artificial Intelligence and it's repercussions. If I were to describe what this book is about, it would be a complete spoiler. Fans of the suspense/thriller genre will be delighted with this innovative read.

Thank you NetGAlley, Random House Publishing Group Ballantine and the author J.P. Delaney for this ARC.

#netgalley #randomhouse #ballantinebooks #jpdelaney has a fan for life!

I'm a huge JP Delaney fan! It was definitely not the usual girl in a coma, crazy guy beside her when she wakes up story. The Sci-Fi vibes in this book kind of threw me off a bit. I think it would have been a five star read for me without the robots and things, but it was still a great read!

I have devoured every JP Delany book that I have been able to get my hands on. The Girl Before was the book I recommended to everyone the year it came out. Believe Me was so twisty that I finished it in one sitting. This was much of the same. The book starts off with a dazed Abbie waking up in what she perceives to be a hospital room. What we later realize is that Nothing is what it seems and that every page makes you more confused until you get to the very last. This book is part domestic thriller which is in his classic style. A cautionary tale of what AI’s are capable of and a heart-breaking tale of a boy who has autism that you can’t do anything but love. I like many readers do not know what to say without giving too much away. If you haven’t read any of the books, I have mentioned I suggest starting with this one and working your way back. This is worth every minute of sleep you miss out on.

5 out of 5 stars

I would like to thank Netgalley and Ballatine books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I have wanted to read a J.P. Delaney book for a long time so I was super excited when Netgalley informed me that I had been approved to read an advanced copy of The Perfect Wife. Let me just say that I was not disappointed in any way!

This was in no way, shape or form your typical psychological thriller. It was totally and completely original and I am thrilled that I got read this!

Abbie awakens and has no idea where she is or what happened to her. She is confused but when the man beside her tells her that his name is Tim, that he is the brains behind a extremely successful tech company and that he is her husband. Abbie thinks she may have been in an accident and as some of her memories start to come back she immediately asks her husband about their son Danny. Only after she is told that he is fine does she begin to breath a sigh of relief. She just wants to go home and see her son but Tim has something to tell her. Something very important. It seems that something has happened to Abbie and she is not who she thinks she is. This confuses her even more. What could he mean? He tells her that it has been five years. That she is an AI. He won't tell her what happened to Abbie as it may be to much for her to handle right now. After losing Abbie, the most perfect wife anyone could ever ask for he could not recover so he had to bring her back. She says that if she is not Abbie then who is she? "You ARE Abbie. You have her memories and the longer you are awake the more memories you will develop."

Abbie does feel like her self. She loves Danny and wants desperately to help Danny with his Autism. She also wants to be the prefect wife she once was. The problem is that the more she tries to find who she once was the more she begins to doubt that her life with Tim was what he has been telling her.

This is a fantastic psychological thriller with a bit of Sci Fi thrown in for good measure. I was hooked right away and could not wait to find out what would happen.